Birth Injury Compensation Case Study

By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 21st December 2023. It can be assumed that people all over the UK are injured in accidents every single day, some of which should have been entirely avoidable. Of course, many injuries could have little to no impact on your daily life. But when it comes to something as severe as brain damage from lack of oxygen, the consequences could be life-altering, if not life-threatening.

Suppose you or a loved one have been unfortunate enough to suffer a brain injury, and you can prove third-party negligence is to blame. Maybe your child suffered brain damage due to lack of oxygen at birth. In that case, you may be looking for information regarding brain injury compensation in the UK. This guide aims to answer your questions on what steps you could take next to get the best support possible.

You may prefer to talk to one of our advisors over the phone about what has happened and how it has affected you. If so, call our team on 0800 408 7825 for free advice with no obligation. Our advisors are on hand 24/7. Alternatively, our live chat feature is ready whenever you are.

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A Guide To Calculate Compensation For A Brain Injury Caused By A Lack Of Oxygen

Brain injury compensation in the UK can be awarded through a personal injury claim. The injury may have been caused by a workplace accident, medical negligence or a road traffic accident. Accidents in public places can also lead to brain damage from lack of oxygen.

This guide aims to explain brain damage causes, what lawful duty of care a third party may have towards you and how they may have breached it. Added to this, you will gain an understanding of the general compensation you could receive and what may be added to the claim. For example, you or your loved one may have experienced physical pain due to brain damage. Depression, anxiety or any other psychological impact should also be taken into account in your claim.

We use an example case study to demonstrate personal injury claims and how compensation can be valued and awarded.

To round off, you’ll gain an understanding of the claims process, as well as, what No Win No Fee solicitors do and how to find the right one for you and your circumstances.

Should you prefer to talk with an advisor at any point, call the freephone number at the top 24/7. You can also write to us.

How Are Brain Injuries Caused?

Workplace Accident

Your employer must, under The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, do their utmost to protect employees from risking their health, safety, and well-being, whether physiological or psychological.

If you believe your employer’s actions led you to suffer brain damage through lack of oxygen, you may not realise that, as an employee, you may be eligible for compensation. To hold a valid claim against an employer you must have evidence that shows they were negligent in their duty of care to protect your safety. For example; you could fall off a defective ladder that your employer should have changed or repaired. This could cause you to fall and hit your head, leading to a brain injury.

Public liability claim

‘Occupiers’ in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 can be those who have control over land or property (e.g. a regional council). They have a duty of care to protect visitors from risking their health and safety.

An occupier may not have:

Warned you or your loved one of the risks of injury.
Made sure an on-site contractor advised you of dangers in their absence.
Chosen a contractor, they considered competent.

Those in control of public spaces must ensure as much as can be reasonably expected that they are free from avoidable risks. If occupiers fail to adhere to health and safety legislation and a member of the public is injured they could be liable. A fall from height due to poor maintenance in a public setting could cause the victim to suffer a brain injury. This could ultimately lead to brain damage.

Road traffic accident

Your loved one, or you, may have had oxygen restricted and suffered brain damage due to an RTA. Under The Highway Code, all road users have a duty of care to avoid causing damage to others. It does not matter how experienced the driver is; they must have the skill of an at least adequate driver. They must also be mindful that not all other road users hold this standard.

If a third party breached this duty, causing a road traffic accident that subsequently leads you or a loved one suffering lack of oxygen leading to severe brain damage compensation may be a possibility.

Medical Negligence Claim

Brain injuries caused by lack of oxygen can occur through medical negligence. In these instances, the awarding of brain injury compensation in the UK depends on whether a medical professional breached their duty of care.

Did your (or your loved one’s) doctor:

Prioritise the patient’s care?
Work within their own skill level?
Make an appropriate response?
Work with you/your loved one to understand any concerns you had?
Provide you with the correct information that you understood?
If it was in the patient’s interest, work with other medical professionals?
Act with honesty?
Discriminate against you or your loved one?
Value your trust in the medical profession and not abuse it?

Medical negligence is when you receive substandard care from a medical professional. Due to this negligence, you suffer harm you wouldn’t have suffered had you been cared for correctly. To prove medical negligence courts very often look to another medical professional with the same skill and determine would have they acted in the same way. Babies who suffer lack of oxygen at birth can suffer brain damage as a result.

Financial Struggles From Brain Injuries

There are two strands of compensation within personal injury claims and medical negligence claims. The first is general damages, which reimburses for any physical and mental harm done. The second is special damages, intended for recovering any financial losses accrued due to the injury, which can include:

Unpaid leave from work.
Medical expenses (providing you have evidence).
Travel costs to and from medical appointments.
Future loss of earnings.

You may be entitled to claim the above as brain injury compensation. UK law allows special damages to consider most financial losses provided they were owing to the injury.

Our advisors can evaluate your case for you. This can be done in a no-obligation consultation. They will determine what you could claim and how much compensation may be appropriate for your case.

How Can A Lack Of Oxygen Cause A Brain Injury?

A brain injury caused by lack of oxygen can occur after a workplace accident, road traffic accident or accident in a public place. Lack of oxygen at birth is commonly known as birth asphyxiation or HIE (Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy). The injuries can be severe, even fatal. It can be a diagnosis that causes stress and anxiety for any parent. The NHS has produced a helpful guide for parents learning how to adjust to their newborn’s unexpected situation.

If the brain is starved of oxygen for a certain amount of time then brain cells start to die off. This can have devastating health consequences as the brain control the body and its functions. When cells stop operating so do parts of the body.

In order to make a claim for compensation, you must be able to demonstrate that a third party had a legal duty over your safety. Then they breached this duty of care through negligence. And finally, you suffered as a direct consequence of this negligence.

Call our advisors today for more information. They are here to answer your call, 7 days a week on the number at the top of the page. If you’d prefer to send a message, you can use our live chatbox feature or contact us.

Brain Starved Of Oxygen – Claim Time Limits

If you suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen, you must generally start a claim within the personal injury claim time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 sets this as three years. This could be three years from the incident where there was a lack of oxygen to your brain or three years after your injury was connected to negligence, such as following a medical exam. However, there are certain circumstances that suspend the time limit. These include:

The time limit is indefinitely suspended for persons whose brain was starved of oxygen and they lack the mental capacity to start a claim. A litigation friend could start a claim on behalf of someone who suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen at any point. However, should they regain their capacity, they will have three years to start their claim.
For children who suffered due to a lack of oxygen to their brain, the time limit does not start until their 18^th birthday. A litigation friend could start a brain damage from a lack of oxygen claim at any point during the time limit’s suspension. However, should a claim not be started before the claimant turns 18, they will have three years from the date of their 18^th birthday to start a claim.

Call our advisors to learn more about claiming on behalf of someone whose brain was starved of oxygen.

Get Your Professional Compensation Settlement Value

If you, or someone you are responsible for, has suffered brain damage, you have most likely already sought medical help. This could act as medical evidence used to support your claim.

If you choose to seek brain injury compensation, UK personal injury solicitors will need a further independent medical expert’s assessment. The report the medical professional creates is used to value claims and prove that the injuries were caused by the incident in question.

It is difficult to put a figure on any claim before the medical assessment has been completed. As it is not fully known how the victim has suffered and how they may suffer in the future. This is why medical assessments are so important. For a general estimate of what you could claim our advisors may be able to help out. They could assess your case and the evidence you have. This could help them calculate an estimate for your settlement.

Case Study: £2.2m Compensation For A Brain Injury Caused By A Lack Of Oxygen

Miss Walls had a healthy pregnancy and was excited to meet her first child. Ten days after the due date, her waters finally broke, and she was admitted to hospital.

On the second day, Miss Walls was having contractions every ten minutes. But she noticed that the babies heartbeat began to slow down with every contraction. She noticed this as she had monitors strapped to her stomach monitoring the baby. Her Partner called for the midwife, who seemed not concerned by this. As the contraction began to come quicker the heart rate began to fall. When the doctor finally came to check on her the heartbeat was really faint and he decided to take Miss Walls for an emergency C-section.

When the baby was born it was clear that something was very wrong. The baby was blue and not breathing. Baby A was rushed to the neonatal and but on life support.

Miss Wells and her Partner were informed that baby A had suffered brain damage. After many tests and scans baby A was diagnosed with Cerebral-Palsy.

The Result

Miss Wells decided to seek legal advice. After a lengthy investigation, the hospital admitted negligence on their part. Baby A was clearly in distress and should have been delivered sooner.

Baby A was awarded £2,200,000, and the breakdown of special damages is below:

Edit
Type of Special Damages:	Includes:	How much?:
Travel Expenses	To and from appointments/treatment	Travel to and from therapy and doctor’s appointments: £1,000
Medications/Prescriptions	Prescriptions, treatment, physiotherapy, walking aids, etc.	Prescriptions: £200
Adaptation to Property	For injuries that cause serious loss of functions (i.e. amputations, disabilities, etc.)	Sensory therapy room: £500
Additional Care	Professional care at home, from family, childcare, etc.	Mother’s care:£437,000 Behavioural therapy for ages 10 to 19: £21,600
Future Loss	Loss of Earnings, future loss of earnings, potential future care.	Loss of potential earnings after the age of 19: £1,534,120

The case of Miss Walls is based on our experiences of personal injury claims and serves as an example of the handling and valuing claims only. It is not based on an actual case.

Injury Compensation Calculation Estimates

Brain injury compensation in the UK depends on the severity of injuries, third party negligence and the circumstances of those involved. This guide aims to help you understand what you may consider recovering in costs as well as general damages. However, clearer advice and estimates, particular to your case, are best given by our advisors.

If you’d like to talk about this, contact our advisors by our live chatbox feature (available 24/7) or call us on the number at the top of the page.

No Win No Fee

Also known as a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’, a No Win No Fee agreement is used to fund solicitors, especially where the claimant cannot afford a solicitor’s upfront fee.

When using a No Win No Fee solicitor ;

There are no upfront solicitor fees
No solicitor fees during the claims process
If the claim fails no solicitor fees to pay at all
When the case wins and compensation is awarded your solicitor will take a capped percentage of your settlement.

This fee has a low limit under The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. Essentially, your personal injury solicitor will be sharing the risk of the outcome of the case with you.

Our panel of solicitors offer No Win No Fee agreements. If you’d like to find out more, call our advisors on the number at the top of the screen or message them through our live chatbox.

Discover Suitable Personal Injury Solicitors

Brain injury caused by lack of oxygen can be devastating and your solicitor should be competent and trustworthy enough to not add to your stress. A solicitor can also work for you from anywhere, so it is important to understand that choosing a good No Win No Fee lawyer should not be dependent on your postcode.

Our advisors can put you in touch with our panel of personal injury solicitors.

Talk With Experts

If you have any questions or for further insight into brain injury compensation in the UK, you can:

Call our team of advisors on 0800 408 7825.
Send a message to them.
Type your query into our live chat feature.

Further Advice

Head Injury Compensation Case Study Guide: Our guide for those who have suffered head injuries.

Child Accident in Public Place Compensation Claims Guide: Our guide to helping your child after an accident caused by a third party.

Hypoxia and Memory Impairment in Children: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children guidance on the effects of lack of oxygen on a child’s brain.

HIE (Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy) Information for Parents: Advice from the NHS for parents of newborns.

Hypoxic Brain Injury Resulting from Cardiac Arrest – NHS guide on brain injury after cardiac arrest.

Accident in the Workplace Personal Injury Lawyers – Our guide on how to report accidents in the workplace.

Thank you for reading our guide to brain injuries caused by a lack of oxygen.

Article by UI

Publisher EC.

Brain Injury Caused By A Lack Of Oxygen (Birth) Compensation Case Study Guide

£2.2m Compensation Payout For A Brain Injury Caused By A Lack Of Oxygen